Race for Champs League hots up

Swansea 0 Liverpool 1
Swansea are one of the teams that have already met their season’s objectives. They will hence lack the intensity to cope with a Liverpool side that has turned keeping clean sheets on the road into an art form. However, the changes Brendan Rodgers made for the Blackburn Rovers FA Cup tie were counterproductive. Emre Can must return to the back three.

Sunderland 1 Aston Vila 1
Aston Villa are benefitting from the ‘shock therapy’ being administered by new manager Tim Sherwood. Villa stars who had lost their appetite for the game are all over a sudden firing on all cylinders. Gabriel Agbonlahor is running harder than ever before, Scott Sinclair is playing within his element and Christian Benteke has rediscovered his eye.

Leicester 1 Hull City 0
Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson and his Hull City counterpart are two managers who are showing signs of cracking under the pressure of EPL struggles. Leicester have been a tad unlucky but they can nick this one.

Chelsea 2 Southampton 0
Nemanja Matic plays his first Premiership game since the fiasco that had him sent off for retaliation. For all Kurt Zouma’s heroics in his absence, it is the Serbian that is a crucial cog in the league leaders’ midfield. Saints hitman Graziano Pelle is struggling for form whereas Chelsea’s Diego Costa has not scored a league goal for a month. Brilliant Belgian winger Eden Hazard will settle this tie.

Man Utd 2 Tottenham 2
Man Utd are unrecognisable from the side that terrorised English Premiership opponents for two decades. The mid-week FA Cup reversal at home to old foes Arsenal raised question marks about Louis van Gaal’s methods and Angel di Maria’s temperament. That is not the right frame of mind to have before the visit of Mauricio Pochettino and ‘Hurricane’ Harry Kane. I am going with a high-scoring draw.
Burnley 1 Man City 3
Captain Vincent Kompany’s loss of form has coincided with a drop in his personal discipline. His spat with Brazilian midfielder Fernando Luiz Roza aka Fernandinho wasn’t good for team morale. Kompany and Fernandinho were involved in row at half-time at Anfield. All the same, the champions will prove too strong for a Burnley side that suffered a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the previous Premier League outing.

C. Palace 3 QPR 2
Crystal Palace play the ‘hardest’ physical game in the division at the minute. Their tremendous run of form under Alan Pardew has been built on a never say die attitude that allows them to chase lost causes. QPR are poor travelers, which bodes well for Palace.

West Brom 2 Stoke City 1
Tony Pulis comes faces to face with his former employers still reeling from back to back losses to derby rivals Aston Villa. Stoke are a team in good form, with African stars Mame Biram Diouf and Victor Moses both among the goals. Still, with Mark Hughes’ side already over the 40- point mark, it is West Brom that will be desperate.

Arsenal 2 West Ham 1
Arsene Wenger has taught his team a key attribute of successful sides. His 4-1-4-1 formation looked lopsided in the defeat to Monaco but it was a learning curve. Flair players Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain have learnt how to defend, giving the Gunners extreme bite. I am counting on this new-found quality to give them victory.

Everton 2 Newcastle 1
Skipper Phil Jagielka captured the mood at Everton best when he said there is no need to pretend about it; his side are in the midst of a relegation dogfight. Last season’s stars have simply failed to show up. Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley, Gareth Barry and Kevin Mirallas must get their groove back.